I just saw The Departed. A few months late and a few dollars short (thanks to Netflix) but it was on purpose, because I wanted to watch Infernal Affairs first. I'm glad I waited. It’s unfortunate that Martin Scorsese has resorted to making big budget blockbusters in the last few years, because it has diluted his body of work.
This is not to say that there’s anything wrong with big budget blockbusters; it’s just that the ones that Scorsese has been making in the last few years are pretty flat compared with his earlier stuff. While it was tightly shot, with decent cinematography, The Departed seemed shallow and unreal overall. More importantly, it did not fare well against its elder twin, Infernal Affairs, for three main reasons.
First of all, the plot for the latter was completely original – something that very few moviegoers had ever had the chance to see. Secondly, the actors brought out an incredible level of depth and complexity in their characters, which was not seen with The Departed. And third, and most importantly, the concept of loyalty – on which the entire plot hinges – seemed so much more culturally believable in Hong Kong, than it did in Boston. As a bonus, audiences for Infernal Affairs had no soft landing in the end - the finale was more powerful, more realistic, and consequently, more cynical than The Departed's. When comparing the two, Infernal Affairs comes out head and shoulders above The Departed, all of its Oscars notwithstanding.
While Infernal Affairs has had the privilege of being remade by Martin Scorsese, not all films coming out of East and Southeast Asia share this honor. Over the last ten years or so, especially since the economies there have started to pick up, the film industries have been booming. As a result, there have been some real gems that have been created on that side of the Pacific. Too many other films deserve the exposure that Infernal Affairs received, and quite frankly, almost all of them are not going to get it.
Most likely, several of you reading this will miss out on some examples of excellent cinema only because you never get the chance to hear of a particular film. Readers in the Bay Area however, need not despair. An excellent opportunity is only a few days away. I’m talking, of course, about the Asian American Film Festival that’s showing in San Francisco, Berkeley, and San Jose, California, from March 15 through March 25. Some of the finest films shot in the last decade are going to be previewed there, including some which have never received any prior western exposure, either in the form of widespread DVD availability or theatrical release.
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